Aster's Letters
by IronChainDragon
Summary: A collection of letters sent to and from Asterion, a Highlander on a mission in Etria. He is also highly overpowered. Maybe setting him on the Labyrinth was actually a terrible idea.
1. Welcome to Yggdrasil

Daichi: This is the story of why playing on easy can be way too much fun.

BlackGatomon: Insert disclaimer here.

Tsukaimon: What's with her?

Verity: It's a minor curse. She'll be fine in about a week, give or take.

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Alexander,

You would never guess what happened to me today. No, this isn't about the mission. That hasn't happened yet. Still, between a perfect exploration of the first floor of Etria's Labyrinth-Venomflies, what's the big deal with them?- and working with some high-level explorers, I'd say it went pretty well.

By which I mean not a scratch on me. I can never thank you enough for teaching me how to transfer life energy. Honestly, why do they say that the Yggdrasil Labyrinths are dangerous again?

Hoping this will be over soon,

Asterion

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"You're sending a letter?" He nodded.

"It's to my teacher. I have a few friends, too, but I think they'll be fine just knowing I'm alive."

"All right, then. I'll send it off straight away."

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Aster!

I turn my back on you for three days, and I hear you've hightailed it off to Etria! You couldn't even say goodbye? You might not come back, I've heard stories of what happens in those Labyrinths! Vicious deer, murderous insects... everything there can use magic! And everything there is out to get you!

I should know! I've actually been in a Labyrinth! Half of the people I was escorting died to a pumpkin! I wish I was making this up. But, I'm not. If you explore this Labyrinth, even the squash can and will kill you at the slightest provocation. At least, if there are squash in Etria.

Promise you'll come back, all right? I know you don't like making promises you can't keep, but humor me on this, okay?

Wishing you the best of luck,

Ariadne

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He'd have to delay the carriage. He had a letter to write.

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Ariadne,

Look, I'm sorry. This was the first mission I've been offered, I got excited, and the mission itself won't even send me back into the Labyrinth, most likely. Don't kill me if I'm wrong. And I don't think there are squash in Etria, I'd have to go check. And vicious deer? You're sure of that? The biggest things I saw in my trip to the Labyrinth were the moles.

They were knee height. Even the tiny hexer accompanying me, Tlachtga, could kick them aside. She barely comes up to my shoulders. I know you're upset about what happened in Lagaard, but, again, I'm not even exploring a Labyrinth. It's actually going to be an ancient ruin.

You know I can't make any promises. I'll try, but, seriously, I don't think you have that much cause to worry.

Wishing you were here,

Asterion

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There was no reply when he returned. He sat down and brought out a pen.

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Ariadne,

Please don't kill me. It turns out I'll have to go into the Labyrinth after all. Something about transport devices, I don't know. It'll be fine. I've even got a guild, now. Besides me, we have an amnesiac girl with a gun, a medic, a protector, and a pyromaniac alchemist. Thankfully, said alchemist knows how to use other elements.

Some other time,

Asterion

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Asterion,

Ariadne's been yelling death threats all morning. While we're all glad to hear your trip has gone well so far, we are also kind of concerned.

Things are going well back here. We trust you will return as soon as possible?

Everyone in General

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Amelie,

Normally, I'd be sending this to your sister, but I think Ariadne's mad at me. Tell her she was right about the deer. There's a good amount of the second floor completely covered in them. Apparently, they breed there. They call them Ragelopes. No word yet about the squash.

I actually haven't been on the whole floor, yet. Just that bit. The medic, Simon, alerted me to a passage we can use to traverse the floor a lot more quickly, so we don't have to go through that again. Not that I expect much trouble if we do.

The alchemist, Arthur, was messing around with some Ragelopes and got caught. Don't worry, he's completely fine. Even has a new staff.

On a related note, dinner tonight is venison.

Aster

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Daichi: I probably wasn't meant to do that. I think I'm gonna bump the difficulty back to normal for the New Game Plus... but that's a long way off.


	2. Into the Marble Orchard

Daichi: Updates are slow. For one reason, and one reason alone.

Tsukaimon: She plays Persona. Persona Q is how she got into it, and this. Meaning she is well acquainted with the Reaper. And the Reaping Shades are close enough to evoke trauma.

Verity: If she owned this, the FOEs would likely be fluffy bunnies.

Daichi: Hey, don't diss the bunnies. They are vicious.

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Aster,

Are you sure that was a Furyhorn- I mean, Ragelope- you killed? I've heard that Etria's forest used to be home to a weaker subspecies called the Fender, before they died out from overhunting. Maybe they aren't as extinct as we thought.

Just a reminder, however, that the Labyrinth has many freakishly strong opponents. And they aren't all as straightforward as the deer. The pumpkin that killed my old guild was invisible until it attacked us.

Best wishes,

Ariadne

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"She did warn us," Asterion sighed, folding up the letter before turning to where the charging boar had hit a tree. "On the bright side, these things don't seem very smart."

"Do you think I could cook one from the inside out?" Arthur asked. "I mean, the deer aren't that threatening..."

"Please don't..." Frederica told him.

"She's right," Simon agreed. "We've already made enemies of a herd of deer, let's not provoke the boars too."

"Please...? Just one-"

"No!"

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Ariadne,

So you were right. There are opponents who can ambush us. It's just boars, though. And they're easy enough to get out of the way of.

Of course, I've never heard of a stealth boar, so that may have something to do with it. We're going down to the third floor soon.

...Though, come to that, I've also never heard of a stealth pumpkin.

Aster

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Aster,

You shouldn't hurry on to the next floor too quickly. In High Lagaard, that's where the really vicious monsters start coming out. Bugs, flowers, all sorts of stuff.

And of course you've heard of a stealth pumpkin. I've told you about them. You just never listened to my old Labyrinth stories. Never mind that there's a reason that I never went back. You just had to go out and find your own Yggdrasil to play in.

You know, sometimes I wonder how many of these things there are, and if they're limited to just our planet. It's not like we'll ever know, though. Right?

Ariadne

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Alexander,

You know a lot of the old stories. And you've actually asked others about what happened to them in the Labyrinths. And if I brought this up to Ria, there's a decent chance she'd freak given the contents of her recent letters.

So, while we were deer hunting in the Labyrinth today, I saw this plant monster with long vines that danced down into a lower floor. And I know there's a story about it, but I don't want to ask anyone in Etria because... well... I don't want to sound paranoid.

Because I'm not. Ria's the paranoid one. Really!

I'm just curious.

Asterion

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Asterion,

While I cannot be certain, I believe that the monster you saw was a Mandrake. They have the power to lower an adventurer's defense, and are often taken as a sign of bad luck.

I hope this information was helpful to you.

Alexander

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Aster,

You saw a Mandrake!? I've heard of them. They ventured down the tree in High Lagaard before, although everyone was certain they came in from a higher Stratum. An undiscovered one.

Because here's the thing about the Yggdrasil Labyrinths. The further you get in one, the more powerful the monsters that appear. So far, nobody in High Lagaard has ever reached the fourth Stratum.

If nobody in Etria's mentioned Strata yet, they're groupings of five floors that make up an ecosystem. Every time you climb that fifth set of stairs, everything you know goes out the window.

Mandrakes on the third floor... Etria must be a terrifying place. Really glad I'm not there.

Ariadne

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Ariadne,

Etria can be a bit scary at times, what with the paranoia that every rock formation could be a Boulder Boar in disguise, but it's also rather beautiful. I spent the entire day in the Labyrinth today.

When you said vicious monsters appeared on the third floor, well, that's one thing these two Labyrinths have in common. The entire area we were exploring was swarmed by these gray mantises that chased after us, although they got tired easily.

One almost caught us, actually, but Frederica bound its legs, letting us make a clean getaway. Honestly, it was the room with three of them that was the most trouble, although I'm not sure who decided to install doors in the Labyrinth.

Another odd thing was the fact that we could still see the stars despite being three floors underground. I'm sure that'll stop happening eventually, especially since the place isn't fully explored.

We had to turn back after a certain point, however, which means we'll have to do all that again. And some of the insects seemed to be guarding unopened treasure chests, so we'll have to figure out a way to get at them.

Wish us luck,

Aster

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"You didn't tell her about Fenrir," Simon stated. Asterion sighed.

"I asked you to check my spelling, not criticize my life choices. Besides, we might not even get to it before the other guilds do. She worries enough as it is."

"And if you tell her after the fact?"

"As long as she doesn't trek here to chew me out, I'll be fine. And even if she does, I can just hide out in the Labyrinth. She's not a recognized explorer here, only in High Lagaard. Not that it matters, since she's clearly stated her desire never to enter one again."

"Oh?"

"Entire guild. Killed by a pumpkin. Sad, right?" He folded the letter and tucked it away. "I'll ask Rosa to get this delivered tomorrow. Thanks for your help."

"It's not a problem."

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Daichi: Aster tries to put on a professional front with his guildmates. It doesn't always work. Meanwhile, Ariadne continues to be your average Yggdrasil dropout.

Verity: I thought those tended to be dead.

Daichi: ...Average living Yggdrasil dropout.


	3. Much Ado About Ice Cream

Daichi: Okay, so now that I've properly gotten over my fear of Reaping Shades…

Verity: That's one way to put it… Now you just need to stop being afraid of Boulder Boars.

BlackGatomon: We don't own these things.

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Aster,

My sister told me that my recent letters may have been a little overbearing. And she's probably right. I just freaked out, because the Yggdrasil Labyrinth has, for years now, been the setting of my worst nightmares.

You seem to enjoy exploring. I did, too. At first. A beautiful forest, hidden within the bark of a giant tree, it seemed like something out of a dream. Ruins and dragons and oversized butterflies in the most brilliant shades of violet and blue. Blue deer, walking flowers… it was unreal.

And then, of course, reality set in. The first Stratum required nothing more than quick wits and a way to avoid the more aggressive predators. The second… that was when things got worse.

It was the most beautiful place I ever saw in High Lagaard. We'd done well to make it through the first five floors, and were sure the next five would go by just as easily. And then a blue pumpkin showed up out of nowhere, and nothing anyone threw at it would leave so much as a scratch.

I'm not sure how many of us made it out, actually… I think the survivalist may have gotten away, but given that she was running deeper into the floor, there's not a lot of hope there. All I knew was that I was never going back.

But just because I couldn't make it in Yggdrasil doesn't mean you can't. I guess. Just be careful, watch out for your guild, and don't be too stubborn to run from a fight you can't win. I'm not sure what I'd do if you just vanished. You're one of my best friends, after all.

Stay safe,

Ariadne

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"Do you still think you shouldn't tell her about Fenrir?"

"Again: Criticize my spelling. Not my life choices."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?"

"Go away, Raquna, this doesn't concern you."

"So you don't want me to tell you that the ice cream maker finally defrosted?"

"I never said that!"

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Ria,

Okay, so I've been talking to some of my guildmates, and they've told me to try and be a bit more sensitive. Well, Simon did, Arthur was messing around with some of the boars after the rest of us explicitly told him not to, but I'm not entirely sure what I expected from him in the first place.

Of course, as you're well aware, sensitivity is not one of my strong points. So, failing that, I'm just going to tell you about things that happened recently outside the Labyrinth. More specifically, the ice cream maker.

Yes, you read that right. Our protector, Raquna, just so happens to be from a noble family, the Sheldons. From someplace called Ontario, and they apparently really like maple syrup, even in ice cream. Which Frederica seemed to want, and I'm not sure if Raquna mentioned it in a letter or something, but we have an ice cream maker now. Which we aren't very good at using. To say the least.

The second attempt came out just fine, but the first one… we don't talk about the first one. It's embarrassing. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

The ice cream tasted great, though. And I think we've sort of gotten the hang of it, so long as we don't repeat the first attempt, so we'll probably keep making it. I'm thinking we'll try flavoring it with some of the berries from the Labyrinth next. It's the tastes of the woodlands without having to leave the safety of home!

...Yes, I am aware that we'll have to go into the Labyrinth to actually get the berries.

Aster

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Aster,

Congratulations. You have officially piqued my curiosity with information that I can't actually weasel out of anybody. Well done.

...Is what I would say. But for the fact that your letters come with a return address, and you included the full name of one of your guildmates.

Nice try.

Ariadne

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Raquna,

I'm pretty sure we've never met. And, unless Aster has seriously loosened up in the time he's been in Etria, there's a good chance that he's never even mentioned me. I'm an old friend of his, and a recognized explorer in High Lagaard, for all that it matters when I haven't been to the Labyrinth in roughly two years.

Anyway, the point is that Aster and I know each other pretty well. And… well… he embarrasses easily, though he tries not to let people know it. He insists on professionalism, but the truth is, that doesn't really come naturally to him. You'll understand if you make it long enough for him to get comfortable with you.

Anyway, that's not where I was going with this. I was just going to ask what happened with your first attempt at making ice cream, since he's outright admitted that it was stupid. Whatever it was.

Hoping for a reply,

Ariadne

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"Raquna, what's that you're reading?" Asterion asked, praying that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a letter from my new penpal, is all." That wasn't very reassuring.

"...Please don't tell her."

"...Wait, are you actually blushing? So she was right about you getting embarrassed easily?"

"Simon, I'm throwing Raquna to the wolves."

"No, you're not," The medic stated, grabbing his wrist before he could actually do so. Asterion could only watch as Raquna pulled a piece of paper from the bag and started writing as they walked.

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Ariadne,

I was sort of surprised to get your letter. Mostly because I wasn't sure Asterion even had friends- if his professionalism really is an act, he's rather good at it. And then he threatened to throw me to Fenrir's wolf pack if I responded, so I guess you were right.

Though I'd had my suspicions, of course. Mainly because of our first attempt at making ice cream. It was taking a long time, we were tired, and he decided to ask Arthur to use ice magic on it to make the job go faster.

It didn't. It made a block of ice that took half a day to thaw out. I trust you will use this information for good- by which I mean teasing. He needs to loosen up, really.

I'm not too worried about the consequences- we took a mission to eliminate Fenrir, after all, so we were going to be in conflict with the pack anyway. I should be fine.

Raquna

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Daichi: And thus, Ariadne finds out about Fenrir due to ice cream. Asterion really should have let Simon criticize his life choices- it'd be less painful.


End file.
